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Show Chapter 6 Power and Multiple- Purpose Projects The ever-increasing urge to derive maximum benefits from natural resources in water and land made inevitable the transi- tion from single-purpose to multiple-purpose projects. Early- developments were frequently designed to meet a single press- ing need, and related possibilities were frequently overlooked. Indeed, the resulting physical structure often foreclosed related uses. But the advance of scientific knowledge soon proved that a single structure could do double duty or better, yielding optimum benefits at minimum cost when integrated with other developments under a comprehensive plan for the river basin. Such were the principles forged in the effort to correlate the satisfaction of regional needs for water supply, irrigation, flood control, navigation, power, and associated demands upon water resources. Correspondingly, the drive to make economical use of capital investment has placed growing emphasis upon power as the principal and often the only feasible means for recovering proj- ect costs. Beyond providing substantial "economic justifi- cation" through reimbursement of such costs, power attains even greater significance through its economic and social in- fluence upon regional growth, its widespread impact being exerted directly and indirectly. Moreover, most water-resource developments so impound water as to provide the necessary head, making them naturally susceptible of power generation. In the course of this process of multiplying benefits while minimizing costs, the history of power development portrays much of the growth of the multiple-purpose concept. Accord- ingly, we shall treat power and multiple-purpose projects to- gether. Because of its scope and to underscore its importance, 259 |